


Picking up the Pieces

by owenharpersgirl



Category: Glee
Genre: Angst, Dysfunctional Family, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family, Family Drama, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Niff, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-17
Updated: 2015-02-02
Packaged: 2018-02-25 19:09:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 5,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2632934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/owenharpersgirl/pseuds/owenharpersgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When The Warblers go to see West Side Story, Nick and Jeff are attacked. Who will help the boys to feel safe again and get back to normal? Contains Niff, Klaine, Hudmels.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Attack

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own Glee; if I did we would see the Warblers far more often
> 
> Warning: Contains violence

The Warblers stood up and clapped loudly as the curtains closed. When it opened again, the cast of West Side Story was standing there. They clapped happily as everyone bowed, but then cheered loudly as Kurt took his turn, and again when Blaine and Rachel stepped forward. The boys filed out of the auditorium with everyone else; Jeff and Nick were near the front, their hands linked together.

“Hey Mr. Hummel!” Thad called when the boys saw Burt and Carole, “Hey Mrs. Hummel!”

“Hi boys!” Carole called back, “Did you enjoy the show?”

“Yeah, it was great,” Wes replied. During Kurt’s short time at Dalton, the Warblers had spent a lot of time at Kurt’s house hanging out and watching movies on weekends. In that time, Burt and Carole had gotten used to having all the boys around. They continued walking outside when Nick stopped and tugged on Jeff’s sleeve.

“You mind if we stop? I didn’t want to leave in the middle of West Side Story,” Nick pointed at the door to the boy’s bathroom and Jeff smiled.

“Sure, no problem. I’ll wait right here for you,” Jeff said and Nick nodded. While Jeff waited, he lost sight of the Warblers though all the people walking out of the auditorium. When Nick walked out of the bathroom they headed down the hall.

“Come on, let’s just go outside here and walk around the school until we reach the parking lot,” Nick said, taking Jeff’s hand. They started walking slowly around the building and had just turned a corner when they bumped into a bunch of guys wearing Letterman jackets.

“Well, well, well. Look at what we have here,” a big, beefy guy said, “A couple of f**s.” Jeff flinched slightly; it had been am long time since he’d been called something like that. Nick tugged Jeff’s hand slightly so the blonde boy was standing behind him. Jeff glanced at Nick and saw that his jaw was set. To anyone on the outside, this might look like Nick was trying to appear tough, but Jeff knew better. His boyfriend was scared, and that terrified Jeff more than anything else.

“We were just here to see the show,” Nick said, his voice strong, “We’re leaving now.”

“I don’t think so,” the big guy spoke again, “You freaks are on our territory now. You don’t get to infect our halls and then just walk away without paying for it.” Jeff jumped when he felt someone grab him from behind and pull him away from Nick.

“Let him go!” Nick shouted, whipping around to look at them. They laughed and one of them grabbed Nick, holding his arms behind his back.

“Nick!” Jeff shouted, “Stop it! Just leave us alone!” The big guy stepped forward and punched him in the face. He felt his lip split open and start bleeding. Blow after blow, Jeff could feel the blood starting to run down his face. He could hear Nick in the background, shouting at them to stop.

The guy holding him held his arms tighter and Jeff heard something snap. He cried out, but even that didn’t stop them. If anything, it only encouraged the beating. The jock hit his head and Jeff saw stars. He felt his legs give out and the only thing holding him up was the guy in the letterman jacket. Jeff wasn’t sure how long it went on. All he knew was that one minute he was being beat up and the next there was a lot of noise and he was being dropped to the ground.

“Jeff! Jeff!” He heard people shouting his name, but couldn’t respond.

“Jeff,” a voice said. He knew that voice, better than any other. He felt someone lift his head gently and was suddenly being held in a familiar pair of arms.

“Kurt go find your dad,” he heard someone say.

“Jeff,” the familiar voice said, “Jeff? Can you hear me?”

“Nick,” Jeff breathed and smiled slightly. Then, everything went black.


	2. The Hospital

Jeff awoke in a brightly lit room. He opened his eyes and squinted against the harshness of it. Everything hurt; his head, his arms, his whole body. He groaned and a voice nearby spoke.

“Jeff? Babe, can you hear me?” Nick asked gently.

“Nick?” Jeff said quietly.

“I’m right here babe, how are you feeling?” Nick took Jeff’s hand in his own and kissed his knuckles.

“Everything hurts,” Jeff said quietly, turning his head slightly to look at his boyfriend.

“I know baby. I’ll go get the nurse, okay?” Nick went to get up, but Jeff tightened his grip on his boyfriend's hand.

“Please,” Jeff whispered, tears welling up in his eyes, “Don’t leave me.” Nick leaned down and stroked the only part of Jeff’s face that wasn’t cut up or bruised, kissing his forehead gently.

"Shush, shush, it's okay. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere."

Tears were streaming freely down Jeff's face now and a sob escaped his throat, his body screaming in pain when it did. The pain only made him cry harder, a vicious cycle that he didn't know how to stop.

"Shhh, shhh, Jeff, babe it's okay. I'm here, you're alright," Nick whispered, trying to calm the blonde boy down.

"What's going on here?" a nurse asked, walking in to the room, "I said you could stay so long as you didn't upset him when he woke up. Now, out!"

"No!" Jeff said loudly, "No! Nick, don't leave me! Please! It's not his fault! Don't make him go!" Jeff looked desperately at the nurse as Nick continued trying to hush him.

"Shhh, hush now, Jeff. It's okay," Nick sid quietly, gently running his fingers through Jeff's blonde hair.

"Alright, alright, he doesn't have to leave," the nurse said, hurrying over, "But you do need to calm down."

"Everything hurts," Jeff whimpered and the nurse nodded sympathetically.

"I know dear," she said kindly, "Here, this will help with the pain." She injected something into the IV as Nick watched.

"What is that?" he asked.

"Morphine," she said, "It'll help with the pain, but it'll also make him very tired. Now, we still need his parent's number." She looked at Nick expectantly, but Jeff spoke first.

"Don't call them," he said quietly, already starting to fall back asleep, "They won't care. They'll just be disappointed those guys didn't finish me off."

"We to call someone, an adult," she said gently.

"Kurt," Jeff said, looking at Nick through tired eyes, "His dad." Nick nodded and gave the nurse the phone number. She left and Nick sat on the edge of the bed.

"Kurt's dad will help us," Nick said, "We'll have to call your parents at some point, but I'm sure Kurt's dad will do what he can to keep you safe."

Jeff was silent for a few moments before reaching out and tugging on his boyfriend's sleeve.

Nick looked down at his boyfriend. "C'mere," he said, leaning back and Jeff attempted to move to rest on his boyfriend's shoulder. Nick slowly and carefully   
helped the other boy up until he was leaning against Nick.

"I love you," Jeff breathed.

"I love you too," Nick said, kissing Jeff's temple gently. "Now, go to sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so for some reason, at whatever point it was that I thought of this story, I really liked the idea of Jeff not having the greatest parents and sort of being taken in by Kurt and his family. It was a bit of a head cannon I had that the Warblers would've spent lots of time at Kurt's house, Jeff and Nick especially because it would've been safe for them.
> 
> I hope you liked this chapter! Thanks so much for reading! New chapter next Monday!


	3. I'm Here

When Jeff next awoke, he was alone.

"Nick? Nick!" he called, fear in his voice.

"I'm here," Nick said, walking out of the bathroom.

"I thought you had left me," Jeff said.

"Never," Nick smiled and sat down on the edge of the bed, "How do you feel?" He ran his fingers through Jeff's hair as the blonde shrugged and then winced.

"Okay I guess. Everything still hurts though," Jeff said, leaning into Nick's touch.

"That's not surprising," Nick said quietly.

"What happened?" Jeff whispered.

"I remember leaving the school and running into those guys, then a lot of pain, and then... nothing," Jeff said, struggling to remember that night. "So, what's wrong with me? When can I go home?"

"Your arm and wrist are both broken, you, um, you had a concussion which is probably why you don't remember much," Nick said softly, "Three broken rubs and... you also have a broken leg and a fractured ankle." Nick bit down hard on his bottom lip, but he couldn't hold it in any longer and broke down. He grabbed Jeff's hand that wasn't broken and held it tightly.

"Shhh, shhh, Nick, please don't cry," Jeff begged, hating to see his tough, strong boyfriend so upset.

"I'm sorry," Nick said, sitting up and looking at Jeff, "It's just, I thought I'd lost you. When they grabbed you and that guy started hitting you, I-I thought-"

"Shhh," Jeff said, bring his uninjured hand up to Nick's cheek. "I'm okay. I'm here and I'm okay."

Nick nodded and wiped his eyes, smiling at Jeff. He took Jeff's hand and held it tightly, kissing the knuckles. They sat like that for a few moments when there was a knock on the door.


	4. Can't Go Home

The door opened slowly and Blaine popped his head around the door.

"Hey," Jeff said, smiling slightly.

"Hey guys," Blaine said, opening the door and walking in. He was followed by Kurt, Wes, David, Thad, Trent, Jon, and the rest of the Warblers.

"How are you feeling?" Wes asked him.

"Okay, better than the last time I woke up," Jeff told them honestly. The Warblers all nodded sympathetically.

"When can I leave?" Jeff asked them and they all looked at Kurt.

"Um, well, my dad spoke to the doctor and she said you could probably be out of here by tomorrow, but," he said when Jeff looked relieved, "You won't be able to go back to Dalton right away."

"What?" Jeff suddenly looked panicked, "What do you mean? Where am I supposed to go? I can't go home! I already told the nurse, my parents will just be disappointed those guys didn't finish me off! Please, please tell me I don't have to go back there!" He looked pleadingly at Nick whose heart broke for his boyfriend.

"No, you don't have to go back there. That's all been sorted out, okay? Kurt's dad took care of it so you don't have to worry. None of us would make you go back there," Nick reassured the blonde. The Warblers hated seeing Jeff so scared and they hated the people who had made their friend like this.

"But then," Jeff said slowly, "Where am I gonna go? If I can't go back to school and I can't go to my parent's house..."

"You're going to stay at me house," Kurt said simply.

"What? Really? I don't want to be a bother," Jeff said, hardly daring to believe it.

"You're not a bother, we all talked about it and figured it was the best option," Kurt smiled at Jeff as he spoke, "My dad has already talked to your parents and they signed off on it."

"Yeah, since we all live at the school we thought it would be awkward for you to stay at one of our houses with just out parents," David explained.

"And since Kurt's back at McKinley and he's living at home again, you wouldn't be hanging out with only his parents all the time," Thad explained. Jeff nodded, but didn't look totally convinced.

"Kurt, are you sure? I mean, I don't want to be in the way," Jeff said.

"My parents are fine with it. I explained to them that you couldn't go back to Dalton right away, but that you also couldn't go home. I didn't tell them why, of course. They understand that it's not for me to tell. But, they both said you are more than welcome to stay as long as you need and Nick is more than welcome at any time. You can stay over with Jeff on weekends if you want to," Kurt told them both. Jeff smiled and looked at Nick for a moment before turning back to Kurt.

"Thank you Kurt, really," Jeff said earnestly.

"It's no problem Jeff," Kurt smiled, "I'm going to call my parents and ask them to start setting up the guest room." Kurt stood from where he had been sitting on Blaine's lap and headed out of the room, pulling Blaine with him.

The boys all say and talked for a while before a nurse arrived and said Jeff needed rest.

"We'll be back tomorrow afternoon to take you to my house, alright?" Kurt said as he pulled his coat on.

Jeff nodded, "See you tomorrow." Kurt, Blaine, and the Warblers left, leaving Nick and Jeff on their own.

"You're staying?" Jeff asked.

"Of course," Nick told him. He leaned down and captured Jeff's mouth in a kiss.


	5. Homecoming

The next day, Jeff woke up and waiting anxiously for three o'clock to roll around so he could finally leave. He had passed on eating the hospital breakfast, one look at it had made his stomach churn. When three finally arrived, Jeff was dressed and ready to walk out the door.

"Babe relax, you're going to hurt yourself," Nick said as he watched Jeff basically bounce up and down.

"I know," Jeff said, "I just really want to get out of here."

"I know you do Love," Nick said, sitting down next to his boyfriend, "But if you hurt yourself before you're even out the door then we won't be going anywhere."

"Ready to go?" Kurt asked, walking through the door He was followed closely by Blaine and his father.

"Yeah, do I have to use that thing?" Jeff asked, looking at the wheelchair Burt had pushed into the room.

"Afraid so kid, but be thankful, we managed to convince the nurse we could wheel you out and didn't need her to," Burt told him. Jeff nodded as Nick and Blaine helped Jeff into the chair.

"Thanks for this Mr. Hummel. Really, it means a lot," Jeff said.

"No problem kiddo, and please, call me Burt." Jeff nodded and after a few minutes they were outside. Carole was sitting in the car waiting for them just outside the doors of the ER.

"Hi Jeff," she said, getting out of the car and opening the door of the van for him, "How are you feeling?"

"Okay, glad to be out of there," Jeff told her as he slowly stood up. he leaned heavily on Nick as he tried not to put too much pressure on his broken leg and ankle.

"Well, you're going to get plenty of rest over the next couple of weeks, and Nick, you're welcome any time," Carole said and Nick nodded, smiling.

"Thank you Mrs. H., I mean, I Carole," he corrected when she shot him a look. The drive to the Hudson-Hummel house was quiet, and not nearly as awkward as Jeff had thought it would be. When they reached the house and got out of the car, Jeff once again found himself putting all of his weight on Nick.

"The guest room is all set up and there's an inflatable mattress up there for you Nick. Of course, you can stay down here on the couch if the stairs are too difficult for you right now," Carole told him.

"Thank you," he said, moving slowly to the stairs with Nick's help.

"I've got to head into the shop," Burt said to Carole, "The boys are gonna come with me, but we'll be back before dinner."

"Alright, we'll be here," Carole said. She went into the kitchen to prepare dinner while Burt, Kurt, and Blaine left to head to the tire shop. Nick and Jeff slowly made their way up the stairs, pausing at the top so Jeff could catch his breath. They walked past Kurt's room and Finn's room and stopped at the end of the hall where there was an open door to the guest room. Jeff sat down on thje bed and lied back.

"I'm sorry," he said to Nick.

"What are you apologizing for?" Nick asked as he put Jeff's bag down by the door.

"This," Jeff said, gesturing to himself, "You didn't sign up to deal with this."

"Jeff," Nick said, "I love you more than anyone. I hate seeing you hurt like this so I'll do whatever I have to if it'll help you get better. SO you're right, I didn't sign up for this, but that's only because I'd hoped you would never be hurt like. Don't apologize for something that's not your fault, okay?"

Jeff nodded and brought Nick down to kiss him. When they broke apart, Nick spoke again.

"I'm gonna go see if I can help Carole with dinner. You get some rest and I'll come get you when it's ready."

"Okay," Jeff said, smiling as he laid back against the pillows. Nick left the room as Jeff slowly fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so this is my last update for 2014! I'm going to be taking the next two weeks off from updating my fanfictions and my blog, but I will be back with the rest of the updates in 2015!
> 
> I hope you all have an AMAZING holiday and I will see you on January 5th!
> 
> Thanks so much for reading and let me know what you think!


	6. Nick's Story

"Can I help?" Nick asked as he walked into the kitchen.

"Oh, thank you dear, can you get the rice out of the cupboard for me please?" Carole asked, smiling. Nick went to he cupboard she had pointed to.

"Thank you Nick, how's Jeff? Is the room okay?" she asked him.

"Yeah, it's great. Thank you so much for this. When he found out he couldn't go back to Dalton right away he was so worried he'd have to go back to his parent's place," Nick said.

"Kurt mentioned he couldn't go home, did something happen?" Carole asked. "You don't have to tell me of course," she added when Nick looked worried.

"I would love to tell you Carole," Nick said apologetically, "But that's more for Jeff to tell than me."

"Of course dear, it's fine," Carole said. She looked at him closely for a moment before speaking again.

"How are you Nick? she asked.

"Me? Of I'm fine," Nick said, but it sounded fake even to him. Carole looked at him and Nick sighed.

"I dunno," he shrugged, "I guess I'm scared."

"What are you scared of?" Carole asked, sitting down next to him.

"That I'm gonna lose him. I've been at Dalton since I left elementary school, so it's been a long time since I've heard other students say the stuff like those guys at McKinley did. Homophobia isn't new to me. Jeff and I have heard when we go out together. But that..." Nick trailed off, "Jeff transferred when I was in my second year, he had been bullied at his old school so he came to Dalton."

"And that's when you two met?" Carole asked,

"Yeah," Nick nodded, smiling, "He was my roommate and ended up being in all my classes. We were best friends by the end of the second day of school. Four months later he was my boyfriend and everything was perfect. He told me about everything that had happened at his old school and how he was scared it would happen again..." Nick buried his face in his hands and Carole rubbed his shoulder comfortingly. Nick mumbled something into his hands that Carole couldn't understand.

"I'm sorry Nick, what was that?" she asked gently.

"I promised him he wouldn't get hurt like that again. I promised I would protect him and... I didn't. I didn't keep safe." Nick broke down and Carole wrapped her arm around his shoulders.

"Shhh, oh Nick, sweetheart, it wasn't your fault," she said.

"Yes it was, I couldn't protect him and now he's hurt and it's all my fault!" Nick said, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Nick, sweetheart, Burt and I were there, remember? It was Kurt, Blaine, and the rest of the Warblers who found you guys and then Kurt came and got us. There were only two of you, Nick, and a lot of them. You tried Nick, but they held you back, remember?" Carole said quietly, trying to calm the boy down.

"It- doesn't- matter-" Nick said between his sobs, "He's- He's hurt because- because I couldn't protect him. I should- should've protected him!"

"You did protect me," a choice said form behind them. Carole and Nick both looked around to see Jeff leaning heavily against the door frame.

"Jeff!" Nick said, standing up and wiping his eyes, "Are you okay? How did you get down here?"

"I heard you, I was worried there was something wrong so I came down," Jeff said simply as Nick helped him into a chair at the table.

"Why wouldn't you call one of us to help you?" Carole asked.

"I heard my name," Jeff explained, "And I knew if something had upset Nick and it was something to do with me he'd never tell me." Nick blushed lightly and Carole smiled at the two boys.

"It's not your fault," Jeff said, shifting in his chair slightly and wincing.

"It is," Nick mumbled and Jeff reached out his good hand to grab one of Nick's.

"It's not. You didn't know those guys would be there. The only thing that kept me from passing out sooner or being totally terrified was knowing you were right there. I could hear you and knowing you were there was what kept me going. Then waking up in the hospital, you were right there. This isn't your fault Nick, okay? It's because of you that I'm here now. You saved me," Jeff said this last but so simply that Nick broke down complete. Jeff wrapped his arm around Nick's shoulders and held him tightly.

Carole slipped out of the room to give them some privacy. She would go back in in a couple minutes to make Jeff rest before he hurt himself too much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! I love Carole and could totally see her mothering all the Dalton boys when they would come over to see Kurt.
> 
> I hope you all had a wonderful holiday! Happy 2015 everyone! I hope you enjoyed the chapter and let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!


	7. Jeff's Story

Burt returned some time later with Kurt, Blaine, and Finn. Nick was sitting on the couch, Jeff's head resting in his lap while they watched TV. Carole was sitting at the kitchen table, papers spread out in front of her.

"Hey guys," Blaine said as he sat down on the floor, pulling Kurt down onto his lap.

"No, no, stay there," Kurt said as Jeff went to sit up, "We're fine." Kurt smiled at Jeff who smiled back slightly, laying back down as Nick resumed running his fingers through Jeff's blonde hair. Finn had flopped down in the chair as Burt walked into the kitchen.

"Hey," Burt said, kissing Carole lightly, "What is all this stuff?"

"The hospital faxed some papers over. Some information about the medication Jeff's on, when he needs to take it, and when his next appointment is. They already told us all this, but thought it would be good to have a hard copy since we have four teenage boys living here and a fifth who will be around as often as possible," Carole told him.

"How were they?" Burt asked and Carole sighed.

"Nick had a bit of a breakdown earlier, apparently his isn't the first time this has happened to Jeff and Nick has been blaming himself for not stopping it. Jeff managed to set him straight soon enough." Burt nodded and looked into the living room where the five boys were sitting. he could see Nick running his hands through Jeff's hair, Kurt sitting on Blaine's lap, and Finn sprawled out in a chair. He smiled at the sight because, despite the bad circumstances, they all looked happy.

"Why don't we look at these later?" Carole said, her voice bringing Burt back to the present.

"Sounds good," Burt said, smiling. He helped clear away the papers and then called the boys for dinner. Finn, who was normally first in the room when there was food, helped Nick steady Jeff as he walked instead of running ahead. Carole was pleased to see this as she knew it would help the boys feel more comfortable and less of a burden.

"This looks great mom," Finn said as they all sat down.

"Yeah, it really does, thank you," Jeff said, trying to cut his chicken with one hand. While everyone else tried to be polite and not watch his struggle, Nick reached over and squeezed Jeff's knee under the table. Jeff looked at him and saw the questioning look in his eyes. Sighing and blushing deeply, he smiled slightly and pushed his plate over to Nick who cut up the food before passing it back to Jeff.

'Thanks," he mumbled, thankful that Kurt and his family weren't staring at him. They finished dinner and Finn and Kurt picked up everyone's dishes. Nick stood to help, but when Jeff tried as well he got told to go sit down on the couch.

"Do you think you can get upstairs?" Carole asked him and he nodded as she and Burt helped him to the couch.

"I think so, if I have some help it'll be easier," he told them and they nodded.

"Thank you," Jeff said suddenly and Burt and Carole looked at him.

"For what?" Burt asked.

"Just, everything," Jeff said, "For letting me stay here, for letting Nick stay here, and for not judging me."

"Jeff, do you really think we're the type of family who would judge you?" Carole asked.

"No," Jeff said, "It's just... This happened at my old school too... Before I transferred to Dalton. They beat me up and I ended up in hospital. I hadn't come out to my parents at that point and when they found out that's why it had happened they were furious. Not at the boys who did it, but at me. They hated that their son was gay. When they decided to transfer me to Dalton... A lot of people thought it was because they were trying to protect me. But really they just didn't want me around. The last time I talked to my parents was before my first Christmas at Dalton. Since then they've wanted nothing to do with me."

"Well then they obviously don't know what an amazing son they have, do they?" Carole asked and Jeff smiled. At that moment, Nick, Finn, and Kurt walked into the room. Nick sat down next to Jeff and put his arm around him. Finn sat down on his other side and Blaine and Kurt sat on the floor again. Blaine leaned against the couch and Kurt sat between his legs, his back resting on Blaine's chest.

"How about we watch a movie before we all head to bed?" Burt suggested. They ended up watching the new Harry Potter film and then went to bed. Nick and Burt helped Jeff up the stairs and when he got into his room he immediately lied down and Nick moved the air mattress so he could be there if Jeff needed anything.

"You alright?" Nick asked as he lied down.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Jeff said, "I love you."

"I love you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So apparently when I wrote this chapter I was going for maximum cheese and fluff and angst levels. I was also very creative with the title.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading and let me know what you think!


	8. Nightmare

Nick woke suddenly, unsure of what had woken him. After lying in the dark for a moment however, he heard something.

_'Jeff,'_ he thought. Nick heard someone groan and immediately stood and turned on the light. He saw Jeff thrashing around and hurried over to him.

"No! Please don't!" Jeff cried in his sleep.

"Jeff! Jeff, wake up! It's just a nightmare!" Nick said, trying to wake up his boyfriend.

"What's going on?" Burt asked, hurrying into the room, Carole, Finn, Kurt, and Blaine behind him. "Jeff, come on kiddo, wake up." Burt put his hand on the blonde boy's shoulder and Jeff's eyes flew open as he shot up in bed. He winced and curled in on himself as his body screamed in pain.

"Easy kid, easy. Lie back," Burt said gently as he helped Jeff lie down on his pillows.

"I'm sorry," Jeff said, coughing harshly.

"Don't apologize Jeff, you haven't done anything wrong," Carole said, passing the boy a glass of water.

"I didn't mean to wake you all," Jeff said miserably.

"Don't worry about it dude," Finn said from the doorway, "We'd all be getting up soon anyway."

"It's five in the morning on a Saturday," Jeff pointed out.

"Yeah well, Coach Beiste has been on me about getting up in the morning to go running and Kurt's going out with Blaine today and it always takes him forever to get ready."

"Yeah," Kurt agreed quickly, seeing what his brother was trying to do. "You definitely did Blaine a favour cause I can start getting ready now and then he won't be waiting on me." Jeff smiled at them as he too realized what they were doing.

"Thanks everyone, really," he said, "And I am sorry." They all smiled at him.

"I'm going to start getting ready," Kurt said, sensing that Nick and Jeff wanted to be alone. He stood and left the room, pulling Blaine along with him.

"Yeah, me too," Finn said, following the two boys out of the room. Burt stood and Carole leaned over to kiss Jeff and Nick's foreheads before they went downstairs.

"Are you okay?" Nick asked his boyfriend as soon as they were alone. Jeff whimpered slightly and turned so his body was pressed against Nick's, ignoring the pain that shot through his ribs.

"We were back with those guys, but this time they were hurting you and I couldn't stop them," Jeff whispered and Nick kissed the top of his head.

"Shhh, they're gone, okay? You're safe, I'm safe, nothing is going to happen to you," Nick said calmly. Jeff trembled violently and his shoulder shook as he cried. Nick wrapped his arms tightly around his boyfriend and held him until he'd stopped crying.

"Come on," Nick said, "Let's go sit you on the couch and I'll get you something to eat, okay?"

Jeff nodded and stood slowly, trying not to move too much. The pair walked downstairs, holding onto each other in every possible way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So in the last chapter I mentioned there were four teenage boys living in the house. I wrote this so long ago I'm not sure what the reason for that was and it probably would've made sense if it was Sam living there. But for some reason Sam isn't included in this story at all, instead Blaine is the one there. I don't remember the reason for this, but it was some headcanon I had at the time of writing this so I hope you like it anyway!
> 
> Thanks so much for reading! Only two more chapters to go! Let me know what you think!


	9. Returning to Dalton

Two weeks passed quickly and soon it was time for Jeff to return to Dalton. He had nightmares almost every night and they hoped that returning to a familiar place would make it easier. He still had a cast on his arm and leg, but his ribs had healed enough for him to go back to school.

"What are they gonna say?" Jeff asked for the thousandth time.

"Babe, c'mon, relax. They're all really worried about you and super anxious to have you back," Nick said, "They love you Jeff and they want you back at Dalton." Jeff just nodded and watched as Nick finished packing his bag.

"You ready?" Nick asked, turning to his boyfriend. Jeff nodded again and leaned on Nick as he stood. They made their way slowly down the stairs where Burt, Carole, Finn, Kurt, and Blaine were standing.

"You take it easy, okay?" Carole said, hugging Jeff lightly before turning to Nick and doing the same.

"I will," he said as Burt hugged him too.

"We'll come up to visit soon and make sure you are," Kurt promised and Jeff smiled.

"You're welcome here any time honey, okay? If it gets to be too much or if you need to get away for a bit then you're more than welcome here," Carole said and Burt nodded in agreement.

"Thank you," Jeff said, looking around at them all, "For everything. It just, it means so much to me, everything you've done. Letting me stay here, taking me to all my doctor's appointments, and just helping me out these past couple weeks."

"No thanks necessary sweetheart," Carole hugged him again, "If you ever need anything, and I mean anything, you call us, alright?"

Jeff smiled warmly and nodded at her, rubbing his eyes quickly to stop them from watering. They said goodbye several more times and then he and Nick walked down the driveway and got into Nick's car.

"You ready?" Nick asked quietly.

Jeff took a deep breath, "Yeah, let's go."

Nick started up the car and they made their way back to Dalton.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I hope you liked this chapter! I had already written half this chapter ages ago and then I finished it just shortly before I uploaded this story.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading and let me know what you think!


	10. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Glee

Several weeks had passed since Jeff had returned to Dalton and things finally seemed to be looking up.

Nick had been right in saying the Warblers all wanted Jeff back, for when he returned his greeting couldn't have been better. They had practically pounced on him the second he got out of Nick's car. Despite how much it had hurt, it had made Jeff incredibly happy to see his friends again.

True to their word, Kurt and Blaine had come to visit only a few days later and brought greetings from all the New Directions and Burt and Carole.

Jeff and Nick had seen Kurt's parents frequently since returning to Dalton. The first reason was because Carole insisted on the boys joining them for dinner once a week. The second reason was that Burt was helping Jeff prepare his case to try and charge the boys who had attacked him and Nick. This was going surprisingly better than any of them had thought it would, but between the Dalton administrators standing by their no-bullying policy and the power that is Burt Hummel, it was looking like Jeff and Nick would actually win their case.

Jeff's nightmares were still in full force every night. He would wake up screaming and sweating, unable to stop shaking no matter what he did.

Every night this happened Nick would hold Jeff tightly and whisper to him that everything would be okay. It usually took a while, but Nick was really the only person or thing that could calm Jeff after one of his nightmares.

And the dark haired boy didn't mind that. He'd told Jeff a thousand times and he'd tell him a thousand more that he would always be there to pick up the pieces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Too cheesy? Ah well, I enjoy cheesy. I hope you liked it! Thank you so much to everyone who has read this story and favourited/followed! It means so much to me!
> 
> Thank you to Deans_Angel6, terribear62, HeartOfHandprints, whitewinternights, and Guests for reviewing/leaving kudos!
> 
> Let me know what you think!

**Author's Note:**

> So, there it is, the first chapter of my first long Niff story. I hope you liked it! I’ve had the first several chapters written for ages, but I wanted to finish my others stories before I uploaded any more.
> 
> I have all the chapters written up so I'll be updating every Monday!
> 
> Let me know what you thought!


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